How to Keep Our Hearts Refreshed

Last weekend I talked about a key element in the Modern Biblical Family: kindness. But how is that attained on a daily basis?

Proverbs 4:23 gives us a straightforward answer: Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” (New American Standard)

This verse and its reference to “springs of life” remind me of hiking in the mountains. If you take a long hike, you can only bring so much water with you. At some point you will run out and need to look for fresh water in the mountains. Yet you must be very careful from which source you choose to fill your bottle and drink.

Those without a lot of mountaineering experience often dip their canteens in the convenient streams which cross the trail. This is a novice mistake. The water may look clear and delicious but if you drink from these streams you will pay the consequences later. Animals drink (and sometimes urinate) in these brooks. The water has collected many toxins along its journey. Drinking from these easy-to-come by springs will most definitely make you sick, causing further dehydration.

Yet if you can find the source of the spring it is an entirely different experience. A good mountaineer knows where to find these spots and the water is the best tasting liquid on earth.

Just as our bodies need refreshment, so do our souls. The NIV translation of the verse says: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” The philosopher and theologian Dallas Willard summarized it like this: “we live our lives from our hearts.” It is so important to keep our hearts pure because it affects everything we say, do, and the attitudes we pass along in our sphere of influence.

Jesus alone can purify our hearts and we need this all the time. This should come as no surprise. The thoughts and attitudes that pollute us and our relationships come out of our hearts: pride, malice, envy, bitterness, and a host of other toxic things. We need to keep our hearts clear and refreshed for our families and church community to be healthy. We need to be continuously refreshed from the Jesus, the source of living water!

Have you been renewed by the Source today? If not, take a moment, step out for five minutes, and commit your day to the Lord in prayer. Ask him to temper your heart and relationships with kindness.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim